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Technologies & Strategies That Enable Research & DevelopmentenNREL refines method to convert lignin to nylon precursorhttp://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/03/nrel-refines-method-convert-lignin-nylon-precursor
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-teaser"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>A new study from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE)'s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) demonstrates the conversion of lignin-derived compounds to adipic acid, an important industrial dicarboxylic acid produced for its use as a precursor to nylon, plasticizers, lubricants, polyesters and other popular products and chemicals.</p></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li><a href="/news/2015/03/nrel-refines-method-convert-lignin-nylon-precursor" rel="tag" title="NREL refines method to convert lignin to nylon precursor">Read more<span class="element-invisible"> about NREL refines method to convert lignin to nylon precursor</span></a></li><li><a href="/news/2015/03/nrel-refines-method-convert-lignin-nylon-precursor#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="node/237876">Comments</a></li></ul>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:50:10 +0000lhock237876 at http://www.rdmag.comWater in smog may reveal pollution sourceshttp://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/03/water-smog-may-reveal-pollution-sources
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-teaser"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="A winter temperature inversion traps smog over the Salt Lake Valley. A new Univ. of Utah study found that as much as 13% of the water vapor in the smog comes from fossil-fuel combustion. The combustion vapor not only rises and falls in concert with daily traffic rush hours and overnight use of home furnaces, but also correlates with rises and falls in combustion-produced carbon dioxide, the major gas causing global warming. Measuring chemical signatures in water vapor from combustion may provide researchers a new way to trace the sources of pollutants and carbon dioxide.&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/html&gt;" /></p></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li><a href="/news/2015/03/water-smog-may-reveal-pollution-sources" rel="tag" title="Water in smog may reveal pollution sources">Read more<span class="element-invisible"> about Water in smog may reveal pollution sources</span></a></li><li><a href="/news/2015/03/water-smog-may-reveal-pollution-sources#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="node/237861">Comments</a></li></ul>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:14:54 +0000lhock237861 at http://www.rdmag.comResearchers devise a faster, less expensive way to analyze gene activityhttp://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/03/researchers-devise-faster-less-expensive-way-analyze-gene-activity
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-teaser"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>A team of Yale Univ. researchers has developed a simple method that could significantly reduce the time and cost of probing gene expression on a large scale. The findings were published in <em>Nature Methods</em>.</p></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li><a href="/news/2015/03/researchers-devise-faster-less-expensive-way-analyze-gene-activity" rel="tag" title="Researchers devise a faster, less expensive way to analyze gene activity">Read more<span class="element-invisible"> about Researchers devise a faster, less expensive way to analyze gene activity</span></a></li><li><a href="/news/2015/03/researchers-devise-faster-less-expensive-way-analyze-gene-activity#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="node/237836">Comments</a></li></ul>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:53:39 +0000lhock237836 at http://www.rdmag.comOn thin icehttp://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/03/thin-ice
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-teaser"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="Locations of sea ice thickness measurements by aircraft (AIR-EM and IceBridge), fixed points (other panels on the left), satellite (ICESAT) and submarines. Image: R. Lindsay/UW" src="/sites/rdmag.com/files/Sea-Ice-Observation-Locationsx250.jpg" style="border-style:solid; border-width:0px; float:left; height:184px; margin:5px; width:400px" />It’s no surprise that Arctic sea ice is thinning. What is new is just how long, how steadily, and how much it has declined. Univ.</p></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li><a href="/news/2015/03/thin-ice" rel="tag" title="On thin ice">Read more<span class="element-invisible"> about On thin ice</span></a></li><li><a href="/news/2015/03/thin-ice#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="node/237831">Comments</a></li></ul>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:41:54 +0000lhock237831 at http://www.rdmag.comA clearer view of cloudshttp://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/03/clearer-view-clouds
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-teaser"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="Analysis of data from the Kepler space telescope has shown that roughly half of the dayside of the exoplanet Kepler-7b is covered by a large cloud mass. Statistical comparison of more than 1,000 atmospheric models show that these clouds are most likely made of Enstatite, a common Earth mineral that is in vapor form at the extreme temperature on Kepler-7b. These models varied the altitude, condensation, particle size, and chemical composition of the clouds to find the right reflectivity and color properties to match the observed signal from the exoplanet.&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/html&gt;" /></p></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li><a href="/news/2015/03/clearer-view-clouds" rel="tag" title="A clearer view of clouds">Read more<span class="element-invisible"> about A clearer view of clouds</span></a></li><li><a href="/news/2015/03/clearer-view-clouds#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="node/237826">Comments</a></li></ul>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:25:32 +0000lhock237826 at http://www.rdmag.comBlack phosphorous: A new wonder material for improving optical communicationhttp://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/03/black-phosphorous-new-wonder-material-improving-optical-communication
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-teaser"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="This illustration shows the high performance photodetector which uses few layer black phosphorus (red atoms) to sense light in the waveguide (green material). Graphene (gray atoms) is also used to tune the performance. Image: College of Science and Engineering" src="/sites/rdmag.com/files/BP%2520detectorx250.jpg" style="border-style:solid; border-width:0px; float:left; height:279px; margin:5px; width:350px" />Phosphorus, a highly reactive element commonly found in match heads, tracer bullets and fertilizers, can be turned into a stable crystalline form known as black phosphorus.</p></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li><a href="/news/2015/03/black-phosphorous-new-wonder-material-improving-optical-communication" rel="tag" title="Black phosphorous: A new wonder material for improving optical communication">Read more<span class="element-invisible"> about Black phosphorous: A new wonder material for improving optical communication</span></a></li><li><a href="/news/2015/03/black-phosphorous-new-wonder-material-improving-optical-communication#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="node/237821">Comments</a></li></ul>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:18:17 +0000lhock237821 at http://www.rdmag.comPens filled with high-tech inks for DIY sensorshttp://www.rdmag.com/videos/2015/03/pens-filled-high-tech-inks-diy-sensors
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-teaser"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>A new simple tool developed by nanoengineers at the Univ. of California, San Diego, is opening the door to an era when anyone will be able to build sensors, anywhere, including physicians in the clinic, patients in their home and soldiers in the field. The team from the Univ. of California, San Diego, developed high-tech bio-inks that react with several chemicals, including glucose. They filled off-the-shelf ballpoint pens with the inks and were able to draw sensors to measure glucose directly on the skin and sensors to measure pollution on leaves.</p></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li><a href="/videos/2015/03/pens-filled-high-tech-inks-diy-sensors" rel="tag" title="Pens filled with high-tech inks for DIY sensors">Read more<span class="element-invisible"> about Pens filled with high-tech inks for DIY sensors</span></a></li><li><a href="/videos/2015/03/pens-filled-high-tech-inks-diy-sensors#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="node/237786">Comments</a></li></ul>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:06:57 +0000lhock237786 at http://www.rdmag.comGlass coating improved battery performancehttp://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/03/glass-coating-improved-battery-performance
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-teaser"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="A schematic illustration of the process to synthesize silica-coated sulfur particles. Image: UC Riverside" src="/sites/rdmag.com/files/ozkan-glassx250.jpg" style="border-style:solid; border-width:0px; float:left; height:207px; margin:5px; width:350px" />Lithium-sulfur batteries have been a hot topic in battery research because of their ability to produce up to 10 times more energy than conventional batteries, which means they hold great promise for applications in energy-demanding electric vehicles.</p></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li><a href="/news/2015/03/glass-coating-improved-battery-performance" rel="tag" title="Glass coating improved battery performance">Read more<span class="element-invisible"> about Glass coating improved battery performance</span></a></li><li><a href="/news/2015/03/glass-coating-improved-battery-performance#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="node/237781">Comments</a></li></ul>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 13:57:09 +0000lhock237781 at http://www.rdmag.comSizing up cellshttp://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/03/sizing-cells
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-teaser"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="These are C. Elegans cells used in the research. Image: Brangwynne and Weber" src="/sites/rdmag.com/files/sizingcellsx250.jpg" style="border-style:solid; border-width:0px; float:left; height:155px; margin:5px; width:350px" />Modern biology has attained deep knowledge of how cells work, but the mechanisms by which cellular structures assemble and grow to the right size largely remain a mystery. Now, Princeton Univ. researchers may have found the key in a dynamic agglomeration of molecules inside cells.</p></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li><a href="/news/2015/03/sizing-cells" rel="tag" title="Sizing up cells">Read more<span class="element-invisible"> about Sizing up cells</span></a></li><li><a href="/news/2015/03/sizing-cells#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="node/237776">Comments</a></li></ul>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 13:40:32 +0000lhock237776 at http://www.rdmag.comGiant virus revealed in 3-D using x-ray laserhttp://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/03/giant-virus-revealed-3-d-using-x-ray-laser
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-teaser"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="This computerized rendering shows a cutaway view of a collection of about 200 x-ray patterns, produced in an experiment at SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source x-ray laser. The images were combined to produce a 3-D rendering of an intact Mimivirus, a giant virus that was at first mislabeled as a bacterium because of its size.&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/html&gt;" /></p></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li><a href="/news/2015/03/giant-virus-revealed-3-d-using-x-ray-laser" rel="tag" title="Giant virus revealed in 3-D using x-ray laser">Read more<span class="element-invisible"> about Giant virus revealed in 3-D using x-ray laser</span></a></li><li><a href="/news/2015/03/giant-virus-revealed-3-d-using-x-ray-laser#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="node/237771">Comments</a></li></ul>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 13:31:20 +0000lhock237771 at http://www.rdmag.com